RESIDENTS in Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot are being urged to take care ahead of Storm Ciaran’s arrival as heavy rain and strong winds are set to batter the counties and could lead to flooding.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is urging residents to be alert for flooding as Storm Ciaran comes into the nation on Wednesday, November 1 and Thursday, November 2.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for most of Wales – including both counties – for Wednesday, November 1, for heavy rain and strong winds. The warning runs from 6pm on Wednesday until 11.59pm on Thursday night.

There is a secondary weather warning in place for Thursday from 3am until 1pm for strong winds, with the Met Office categorising this as an amber warning. This covers part of the Pembrokeshire coast but the yellow warning remains in place for the Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot areas.

Despite Storm Ciaran, the Met Office is predicting that there will be some sunny but heavy showers on Wednesday for Ammanford rather than just rain and gusts are expected to reach a high of 18mph as Ammanford is on the border of the yellow wind warning. Llandovery is expected to have the same weather, but with winds of just 15mph as it is not under the weather warning for wind.

In Neath Port Talbot, Pontardawe is set to have the same forecast but higher winds, with a high of 32mph.

At the time of writing, NRW does not have any active flood alerts for the counties in relation to the storm, but they are updating every 15 minutes. Flood alerts are usually issued for all along the River Amman, River Loughor and River Towy. Up to date flood alerts and warnings can be seen at https://flood-warning.naturalresources.wales/

At the time of writing, there is an active flood alert for both the Upper and Lower Towy. The alert for the Upper Towy has been in place since late on Monday, October 30, with the Lower Towy alert being in place since the late morning of October 28. There is a warning that from 4pm today – Tuesday, October 31 – there is adverse weather expected which could flood the low-lying land and roads surrounding the river.

A flood alert means that flooding is possible, whereas a flood warning means that flooding is expected. If a severe flood warning is issued, it means that there is expected to be significant disruption due to flooding as well as a threat to life.

NRW has issued the warning as the heavy rain could lead to issues with surface water and cause swollen rivers to rise quickly, with the potential to burst their banks. Large waves on coastal areas could also lead to some surface flooding due to the strong winds.

Katie Davies, duty tactical manager for NRW, said: “The current forecasted rain from Storm Ciaran could cause rivers to respond rapidly, especially across South Wales, and we are urging people to be aware and be prepared.

“Making sure you know what the situation is like where you live is really important. You can check your flood risk and latest flood alerts and warnings on our website which is refreshed every 15 minutes. Keep an eye on @NatResWales on (X) Twitter for the latest information and listen to weather reports and local news for details of any disruption in your area.

“Our teams are doing all they can to reduce the risk for communities, but if there is flooding, we want to make sure people are doing all they can to keep themselves safe too. We urge people to keep away from swollen rivers, and not to drive or to walk through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and contains hidden hazards.”

NRW’s incident response teams are working with emergency responders and local authorities, ensuring that flood defences are in good working order, clearing gulleys and ditches and operating temporary defences where needed to help reduce the risk of flooding.

They are also urging people to be prepared and take extra care if needing to travel. Those in areas where flooding is a concern should move valuables and vehicles to higher locations ahead of the storm.

People can register for NRW’s free flood warning service at www.naturalresources.wales/flooding or by calling Floodline on 0345 9881188 and should check the flood warnings page mentioned earlier.